CMT Next Women of Country 2023

CMT Next Women of Country 2023

CMT Next Women of Country Julie Williams is turning heads in Nashville’s country music scene!

Julie Williams Is Turning Heads!

CMT Next Women of Country Julie Williams is turning heads in Nashville’s country music scene with songs that tell the stories she wished to hear as a mixed-race child. A regular host of The Song Suffragettes, Julie was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021, featured on She Wolf Radio’s Ones 2 Watch list, and her single Southern Curls was covered by Billboard, CMT, PBS NewsHour, and numerous music publications.

Just The Beginning!

Having opened for acts such as Will Hoge and Mt. Joy, Julie tours with the Black Opry Revue, a showcase of Black artists in country, blues, folk, and Americana music, and performed with the group at CMA Fest 2022 in Nashville. Julie took the stage with the group at CMA Fest in Nashville in June 2022 and followed this performance with her first solo tour that brought Julie Williams and her songs across the country and globe.

With performances in London, Nashville, and across the East Coast. After her Americana Fest debut at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Julie hit the road again over the fall with a mix of Black Opry and solo performances across the Midwest, West Coast, and Northeast.

Fearlessly forging ahead down country roads, singer-songwriter Julie Williams carries her mixed-race heritage proudly, just as she carries her tunes. Raised in Florida, Julie is turning heads in Nashville’s country music scene with the soft but powerful songs that capture the soul of growing up as a mixed-race child in the South.

Music Is Life!

Music has always been a part of Julie’s life – honing her singing talent in church and beach bars and belting national anthems before packed stadiums. She grew up listening to everyone and everything, from The Chicks and James Taylor, to Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson.

Even though she was drawn to the storytelling of country music, she never quite found the sound that spoke to everything she was: Black, white, Southern, a woman, hopeful, truthful. So naturally, it was up to Julie to make this sound. “My music is mixed like me,” is how she describes it, “I want to tell the stories that need to be told.”

Southern Curls

Julie Williams started sharing those stories, and the people listened. A student at Duke University, Julie was signed to Small Town Records whose alumni include Mike Posner and Delta Rae and sang as a vocalist for the Duke Jazz Ensemble. In April 2019, she released her debut EP, Love cycle, earning a feature in People of Duke Arts in 2019. After graduating with a public policy degree in 2019, she moved to Nashville, where she became a regular host of The Song Suffragettes, Nashville’s premier collective of female singer-songwriters.

Performing her upcoming single Southern Curls at the State of Tennessee’s 100th anniversary celebration of the 19th amendment. She was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021 and featured on She Wolf Radio’s Ones 2 Watch list. In April 2021, she was featured in a PBS NewsHour special on Black women in country music.

Honest Music

“People want to hear black voices, black stories,” Julie always says. “I was nervous about how my songs would be received by Nashville – but people want honesty. They want honest songs about real life, and for the artists they follow to take a stand.” Julie´s upcoming single Southern Curls embodies this – making waves with her soulful lyrics about the struggles of growing up mixed in the South, aiming for the heart and striking true.

Her fans responded by raising over $5000 in only one week to fund the song’s music video that was brought to life by an all black creative team. The single and music video, released in March 2021, covered by Billboard, CMT, World of Country, and numerous music publications.

Touring The Country

Julie has begun touring the country with the Black Opry Revue, a showcase featuring Black artists in country, blues, folk, and Americana music, and performed at their CMT-sponsored anniversary gala in April 2022 that was covered by NBC News. Julie took the stage with the group at CMA Fest in Nashville in June 2022 and followed this performance with her first solo tour that brought Julie and her songs across the country and globe – with performances in London, Nashville, and across the East Coast.

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